Echinacea plant named ‘The Price Is White’

ABSTRACT

The new and distinct cultivar of Echinacea plant named ‘The Price Is White’, with fragrant inflorescences on strong well-branched stems producing single whorls of broadly-overlapping, long, broad, white, ray florets that maintain their coloration with little change through maturity. The new plant is vigorous and produces a compact habit and flowers from mid-summer to fall frost with large fragrant inflorescences having a single row of large, broad, white, overlapping ray florets. The new plant is attractive and suitable as a potted plant, for the landscape, and for cut flower arrangements.

Botanical denomination: Echinacea hybrid.

Cultivar designation: ‘The Price Is White’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(b)(6)

The first non-enabling disclosure of the claimed plant, in the form of aphotograph and brief description was on a website operated by WaltersGardens, Inc. on Dec. 1, 2019. Echinacea ‘The Price Is White’ was listedwith a photograph and brief description in the “Walters Gardens 20-21Catalog” distributed first on May 20, 2020. The claimed plant was firstsold on Mar. 2, 2020 by Walters Gardens, Inc., who obtained the plantand all information relating thereto, from the inventor. No plants ofEchinacea ‘The Price Is White’ have been sold in this country oranywhere in the world, nor has any disclosure of the new plant beenmade, more than one year prior to the filing date of this application,and such sale or disclosure within one year was either derived directlyor indirectly from the inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the new and distinct cultivar ofConeflower from the genus Echinacea and given the cultivar name ‘ThePrice Is White’. The new plant was the result of a cross on Jul. 15,2016 by the inventor between the proprietary hybrid known only by thebreeder code as 14-6-31 (not patented) as the female parent and‘Butterfly Kisses’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 24,458 at a wholesale perennialnursery in Zeeland, Mich. This single seedling selected was evaluatedfirst in trials in the summer of 2017 at the same nursery and assignedthe breeder code of 16-48-1. Echinacea ‘The Price Is White’ has beenasexually propagated at the same nursery by crown division since 2017and also using careful shoot tip tissue culture procedures and found toreproduce plants that exhibit all the characteristics identical to theoriginal plant.

Echinacea ‘The Price Is White’ is distinct from all other Coneflowersknown to the inventor. The nearest comparison cultivars are: ‘TNECHKW’U.S. Pat. No. 30,856, ‘Fragrant Angel’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,054,‘Alaska’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 17,547, ‘Virgin’ U.S. Plant Pat. No.18,684, ‘Purity’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,441, ‘Milkshake’ U.S. Plant Pat.No. 20,594, ‘Heavenly Dream’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,957, ‘White Mist’U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,790, ‘Little Angel’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,870,‘Polar Breeze’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,630, and ‘White Swan’ (notpatented).

The female parent plant, 14-6-31, was taller in habit, with orange raypetals that were narrower. ‘Butterfly Kisses’ has a slightly shorterhabit, anemone-type inflorescences and ray and disk florets that arelight pink.

‘TNECHKW’ has shorter habit, with smaller inflorescences and fewer rayflorets and the cones are more green-colored. ‘Fragrant Angel’ is tallerand more upright in habit and the cone is more green. ‘Alaska’ issimilar height with narrower habit, less branching with fewerinflorescences per stem and fewer and larger ray florets. ‘Virgin’ hassmaller inflorescences on taller plants and the ray petals are a morechartreuse-white. ‘Purity’ has a taller and wider habit with lessbranching and fewer smaller flowers per plant. ‘Milkshake’ has a muchlarger habit, with significantly smaller anemone-type inflorescences.‘Heavenly Dream’ has a larger habit with ray petals that are moredrooping. ‘White Mist’ has more oranaish-yellow receptacle spines andnarrower more drooping ray florets. ‘Little Angel’ is smaller in habitand the inflorescences are much smaller. ‘Polar Breeze’ is shorter inhabit and the inflorescences are much smaller. ‘White Swan’ is seedcultivar that is taller in habit and ray florets are less horizontalwith fewer ray florets per inflorescence and less branching per stem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Echinacea ‘The Price Is White’ has not been evaluated under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations inenvironment including: growing temperature, available sunlight,nutrients, water, etc. without a change in the genotype of the plant.The new plant is distinct from its parents and all other Echinacea knownto the applicant in the following combined traits:

-   -   1. Fragrant inflorescences on strong heavily-branched stems;    -   2. Large, broad inflorescences with single whorl of ray florets        that tend to stay horizontal once open;    -   3. Ray petals are wide and broadly-overlapping;    -   4. Ray petals of clear white with orangish-yellow cones;    -   5. Vigorous growth and excellent habit;    -   6. Large, greyish-olive-green, lanceolate foliage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of the new invention demonstrate the overall appearanceof the plant including the unique traits. The drawings of the new plantare of a two-year-old plant grown in full-sun trial garden in Zeeland,Mich. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with colorreproductions. Some slight variation of color may occur as a result oflighting quality, intensity, wavelength, direction or reflection.

FIG. 1 shows the habit of the new plant in flower.

FIG. 2 shows a close up of some inflorescences of the new plant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT

The following description of Echinacea ‘The Price is White’ is based onobservations of two-year-old specimens grown in a full-sun trial gardenwith supplemental water and fertilizer in Zeeland, Mich. The new planthas not been tested in all environments and some phenotypic differencesmay occur with different environments without, however, any change ingenotype. The color descriptions are based on the 2015 edition of TheRoyal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionarydescriptions are used.

-   Parentage: Female or seed parent is the proprietary unreleased    hybrid 14-6-31 (consisting of ‘Julia’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 24,629 and    ‘Butterfly Kisses’) and male or pollen parent is ‘Butterfly Kisses’;-   Plant habit: Multi-stemmed, heavily-branched, hardy herbaceuous    perennial, flowering to about 52.0 cm tall and foliage to 38.0 cm    tall and 50.0 cm wide;-   Growth rate: Vigorous, finishing in 4 liter containers in about 2    months during the summer;-   Roots: Cream-colored, finely branched; color nearest RHS NN155B    depending on soil;-   Foliage: Alternate; lanceolate; acute apex; attenuate base; margin    serrulate, micro-ciliolate; puberulent abaxial and adaxial; basal    leaves to about 19.0 cm long and 9.0 cm wide, cauline leaves    decreasing distally, average about 14.0 cm long and 5.8 cm wide;    variegation absent; rugosity absent to weak;-   Leaf color: Young leaves adaxial nearest RHS NN137C, abaxial nearest    RHS 147B; mature leaves adaxial between RHS 137A and RHS NN137C,    abaxial nearest RHS 147B;-   Foliage fragrance: Lightly herbal;-   Venation: Pinnate; with two primary arcuate veins on both sides of    the midrib; abaxial midrib and veins costate; glabrous adaxial,    sparsely hirsutulous abaxial;-   Vein color: Young and mature adaxial primary veins and midrib    between RHS 146D and RHS 145A, secondary veins nearest RHS NN137A;    abaxial midrib nearest RHS 145C and two primary veins nearest RHS    146D , secondary veins nearest RHS NN137A;-   Petiole: Concavo-convex, strigillose adaxial and sparsely puberulent    to strigillose abaxial; about 10.0 cm long and 3.0 mm wide on lowest    leaves and decreasing to sessile distally; adaxial color between RHS    145B and RHS 145A in center with margins between RHS 136A and RHS    NN137B, and abaxial center between RHS 146D and RHS 146C with    margins between RHS 136A and RHS NN137B;-   Peduncle: Densely puberulent to strigillose; cylindrical; strong    stiff; to about 52.0 cm long and 9.0 mm diameter at base; quantity    per plant about eight; flowering in upper 20.0 cm;-   Peduncle color: Nearest RHS 146C;-   Branches: Cylindrical, puberulent to strigillose; tightly angled to    main stem to about 65° above horizontal: to about 24.0 cm long and    5.0 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 146C;-   Inflorescence: Bracteate head, aggregate of achene; with single    whorl of distinct ligulate ray florets and central disk florets in a    pappus; flowering mid-summer to fall frost; initial inflorescence    largest, to about 12.5 cm wide and 4.5 cm tall, average about 10.0    cm wide and 4.0 cm tall, with cones 4.8 cm across and 4.0 cm tall;-   Inflorescence fragrance: Lightly sweet;-   Flower persistence: Ray florets remaining affective in color for 10    to 14 days depending on temperatures, cone persistent and effective    through drying on plant into winter;-   Involucre: With numerous bracts; to about 76 per inflorescence in 4    whorls; arcuate downward toward peduncle;-   Involucre bracts: Linear; narrowly acute apex; truncate base;    micro-ciliolate margin; adaxial glabrous and lustrous; abaxial    micro-puberulent; recurved greater than 90 degrees; average about    14.0 mm long and 3.5 mm across;-   Involucre bract color: Adaxial center between RHS 138D and RHS 145D,    margin between RHS 147A and RHS 138A; abaxial center and margin    nearest RHS 138A;-   Inflorescence buds with ray florets vertical and still enrolled:    About 32.0 mm across and 30.0 mm tall; ray floret color nearest RHS    2D, with chaff portions nearest RHS 144A proximally and RHS 144B    distally;-   Ray florets: Zygomorphic; arrangement in single whorl,    broadly-overlapping, typically imbricate; lanceolate, apex    emarginated with two or more notches to 1.0 mm deep; base cuneate;    margin entire; adaxial lustrous and glabrous; abaxial matte and    glabrous; 24 to 33 per inflorescence; opening to horizontal,    drooping to about 20 degrees below horizontal with maturity;    sterile; ligule to 48.0 mm long and 19.0 mm wide near middle,    average size 45.0 mm long, 16.5 mm wide tapering to 2 mm wide in    basal 3 mm; thickened veins raised; twisting absent;-   Ray ligule color: When first horizontal—adaxial between RHS 155A and    RHS 155B, abaxial nearest RHS 155A with veins and light blush    nearest RHS 8B, basal 3.0 mm nearest RHS 144A; before    dehiscence—adaxial nearest RHS 155C and abaxial nearest RHS 155C    with adaxial and abaxial base nearest RHS 144B;-   Disc florets: About 250 to 350 per head; actinomorphic; perfect;    synandrous; produced in raised dome, about 4.8 cm across and 4.0 cm    tall; individually to about 7.5 mm long to exserted style and 2.0 mm    diameter;-   Corolla: Fused forming tube; outer florets to about 7.0 mm long and    1.5 mm wide, central florets about 6.0 mm long and 1.5 mm wide;    fused in basal 6.0 mm, free in distal 1.0 mm; individual tepals    about 0.7 mm wide at fusion; acute apex; entire margin; surfaces    slightly lustrous;-   Corolla tube color: Adaxial and abaxial nearest RHS 144A in distal    1.0 mm, adaxial and abaxial proximal 6.0 mm nearest RHS 145C;-   Disk floret androecium: Five; synandrous;-   Staminal column: About 1.0 mm wide and protrudes from corolla tube    about 1.5 mm; five connate stamens;-   Anthers: Fused, about 3.0 mm long and 0.7 mm diameter; color nearest    RHS 200A;-   Filaments: Five; attached to column; thin, about 0.1 mm diameter and    about 1.0 mm long; color nearest RHS 155D;-   Pollen: Globose, abundant, less 0.1 mm in diameter, RHS 17B;-   Gynoecium: Single; to 7.0 mm long;-   Style: About 4.0 mm long and 0.2 mm diameter; color nearest RHS    145A;-   Stigma: Bifid; reflexed about 180°; about 1.5 mm long and 0.2 mm    diameter; color nearest RHS 145A;-   Seed: Achene; apex truncate to funiculus, with four main pappus;    about 5.5 mm long and 2 mm across; funiculus about 1.0 mm across and    0.5 mm long; pappus 1.0 mm long and 0.5 mm across;-   Seed color: Between RHS 199B and RHSN 199A;-   Receptacle spines: One per disk florets; acicular; apex acute; base    attenuate; lustrous; glabrous; to 15.0 mm long and 2.0 mm diameter;-   Spine color: Adaxial and abaxial base nearest RHS NN155D, middle    portion nearest RHS 138A, distally nearest RHS 23A; becoming nearest    RHS 146D with flower maturity and drying to nearest RHS 200A;-   Culture and performance: The new plant performs well and remains    upright even when exposed to heavy rains and high winds.-   Disease and pest resistance: The new plant has not been shown to    have any disease or pest resistance beyond that common to Coneflower    plants.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct ornamental cultivar of Echinacea plantnamed ‘The Price Is White’ as herein described and illustrated.